Difficulty using Language | Autism Speech Therapy Services

Common difficulties using language for children with Autism Spectrum Disorder.

Maximising the speech, language and communication skills of children with Autism is our number one speech therapy goal. Our Speech Therapists have provided a useful list of common ASD speech and language difficulty and suggestions for speech therapy treatment.

ASD communication challenge Number 1 ~ Conversations.

Poor conversation skills can cause frustration in children with Autism. Social uses of language are important to maintaining friendships, life skill development and literacy subjects at school. Children with Autism struggle to infer meaning from both body language and spoken language. This can result in other children identifying an Autistic child as ‘different’.

Solutions for an Autistic Child’s conversation problem.

Finding a solution to your ASD child’s conversation problem is the role of an experienced Speech and Language Pathologist. Our Speech Therapists’ general recommendations include; engaging your Autistic child in appropriate social play designed to prompt language development and social cue understanding. Teaching children questions to ask their friends and how to listen is crucial to their development. If you child is still struggling book an appointment with Focused Education’s Speech Therapists. We can help your ASD child.

Overcoming a learning difficulty is possible with the right educational assessment, advice and tutoring support.

Children with Autism often find expressing their needs and wants challenging. Many infants and toddlers with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) talk to adults by physically communicating what they would like to play with or eat. This problematic communication method may involve pushing an adult towards a play object or grabbing a desired food rather than asking for it verbally.

Solutions for an Autistic Child’s difficulty in communicating needs and wants.

The solution differs for each Autistic child as each child is different. Your local specialist Speech and Language therapist is a good place to seek help. Generally speaking, Autistic children need to be explicitly taught how to ask politely for items. Sometimes Autistic children may be overly demanding. In cases of a child with ASD being aggressive or manipulative in order to get what they want, it is vital to link communication goals with a behaviour management plan developed by a psychologist or occupational therapist.

3. ASD communication challenge Number 3 ~ Lack of interest in social interaction.

Toddlers, children, and adolescents with moderate to severe Autism often display social interaction deficits. This category of ASD diagnosis will choose to be alone and usually, have anxiety related to personal space. Autistic behaviours such as self-isolation can be detrimental to communication skills because this often results in reduced opportunities for social engagement and difficulty talking to friends.

In some cases, children with Autism may not have any real friends. Kids with ASD that say “everyone is my friend” often do not understand that they do not have a close bond with another child at all.

We assess and diagnose Autism Spectrum Disorder for the WA Autism Register

Solutions for an Autistic Child’s Lack of interest in social interaction

Autism Social skill groups are a fantastic way of building core friendships skills in a supportive environment. At Focused Education our social skill groups include advise and support from specialist teachers, speech therapists and psychologists that have spent many years refining our communication and friendship based groups.